Author: Andres-Papazian

HAYK KOTANJYAN: ALIYEV’S MILITARY PROVOCATION SYNCHRONIZED WITH MEDVEDEV’S PEACEFUL INITIATIVE

ArmInfo
2010-06-21 13:43:00

ArmInfo. “The regular armed provocation by Azerbaijan against
Nagorno Karabakh Republic has been synchronized not only with
President Medvedev’s Petersburg peaceful initiative but also with
US President Barack Obama’s message having been recently delivered
to Baku by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, which also emphasized
the imperativeness of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict”, Head of the National Strategic Research Institute of
Armenia’s Defense Ministry, advisor to the Defense Minister on military
policy and security, Doctor of Political Science, Major-General Hayk
Kotanjyan said when commenting on the incident happened on June 18
on the Azerbaijani and NKR AF contact line.

“President Aliyev has hastily left Saint Petersburg after the meeting
with Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan, held on the Russian
president’s initiative, as to avoid answering the questions about
the military provocation unleashed by his order on the contact line
several hours later after the trilateral presidential meeting. The
current sultanate-type regime in Azerbaijan rules out unauthorization
of such a military provocation, especially that timed to the target
peaceful initiative of Russia’s president”. Kotanjyan said.

According to him, it is not the first time the president of
Azerbaijan shows such a negligence to the Russian president’s peaceful
initiatives. Almost a year ago, the public’s attention was drawn to the
Azerbaijani president’s statement in Chatham House about the readiness
to start a war for return of Karabakh, which conflicted with the
Maindorf Declaration initiated by President Medvedev and signed shortly
before that. As for the prospect of growth of I. Aliyev’s bellicose
statements into a new war, the General thinks that one should not
rule out growth of Aliyev’s revanchist calls and armed provocations,
being planned under his guidance, into a new war in Karabakh taking
into account the absence of any serious counteraction by the world
community to the demonstrative arms race being imposed by Azerbaijan.

“Catastrophic impact of such a policy on the regional stability and
security is obvious – on the example of the well-known tragic events
in Georgia”, Kotanjyan said.

“The Armenian party highly appreciates the purposeful efforts by
presidents of Russia, USA and France on peaceful settlement of the
Karabakh conflict, however, it has all the grounds to warn President
Aliyev that launch of a new war in Karabakh will make the Armenian
party, in accordance with McNamara principle, to inflict cause an
acceptable damage to Azerbaijan”, the General said. When asked what
may be the possible basis of productive application of the trinity of
principles “non-use of force, free self-determination and territorial
integrity” for solution of the Karabakh problem, Kotanjyan replied that
recognition of the fact of the NKR withdrawal from the Azerbaijani
SSR by Azerbaijan according to the Law of the USSR “On the order of
solution of issues related to withdrawal of a union republic from
the USSR” may be such a basis.

“This legal and political fact should become the basis of Armenia’s
foreign policy. The matter concerns acceptance by OSCE MG co-chairing
states, as a basis of their mediation activity, of the fact of
illegality of use of the principle of territorial integrity with the
respect to the Azerbaijani Republic with consideration of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic in the latter’s structure”, Kotanjyan resumed.

From: A. Papazian

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA: ANTI-ARMENIAN HYSTERIA OF AZERBAIJAN IS A CHALLENGE TO ARMENIANS WORLDWIDE

ArmInfo
2010-06-22 16:49:00

ArmInfo. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan met with representatives
of the Armenian community of the FRG on Monday, the presidential
press-service reported. Serzh Sargsyan thanked the local Armenian
community for assistance to Armenia and Artsakh and the efforts made
for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

President Sargsyan answered the question by those present related to
the Karabakh peace process and the Armenian-Turkish normalization.

“These is a huge wave of intolerance in the Azerbaijani public towards
Armenians worldwide. Azerbaijani Mass Media dig into ancestry of
European, Russian and US officials to find Armenian roots,” he said.

The president outlined that the contours of their ideology saying
that “Armenians are guilty of everything” is becoming evident. The
president believes that no one took it seriously at first since lies
have short legs. “But this lie is gathering pace and millions of
dollars are spent on it. That anti-Armenian and anti-human infamy
is a challenge for the Armenians worldwide, especially in Europe,
to meet,” the president said.

On the first day of his visit to Germany, Serzh Sargsyan was
interviewed by Deutsche Welle TV Channel.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA WELCOMES GERMANY’S BALANCED POSITION ON REGIONAL PROBLEMS

NEWS.am
June 22, 2010 | 16:57

At their meeting in Berlin June 22, RA President Serzh Sargsyan
and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the development of
bilateral relations.

The Armenian leader said that bilateral top-level meetings enable
the sides to expand their cooperation and political dialogue.

Armenia-German relations are an important factor in Armenia’s
integration into Europe, he said.

The sides also addressed the development of trade and economic
relations. They pointed out that the activities of more than 80 German
companies in Armenia serve as a good basis for expanding investment
cooperation.

The sides also discussed the issue of German financial and technical
assistance to Armenia. The Armenian leader pointed out that Germany
is Armenia’s second largest partner under donor programs, playing an
important role in reforms in Armenia’s life.

The Armenian and German leaders discussed regional problems. Speaking
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Sargsyan expressed
concern over Azerbaijan’s regular statements on a military settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which threatens not only the
Armenian-Azerbaijani talks, but also regional stability.

As to Armenian-Turkish relations, the Armenian leader expressed regret
that the efforts to get Europe’s last closed border opened by Armenia
and the European community failed, as Turkey used the negotiations
with different ends in view. The sides pointed out the importance of
Armenian-Turkish reconciliation without any preconditions and of a
peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the OSCE
Minsk Group.

The Armenian President and the German Chancellor gave a press briefing
after the meeting.

From: A. Papazian

AZERBAIJAN DISTORTS FACTS, RA MIGRATION SERVICE SAYS

NEWS.am
June 22, 2010 | 17:03

The RA Migration Service refuted a claim by Ali Hasanov, Chairman of
the State Refugee Committee of Azerbaijan. He claimed 250,000 refugees
migrated to Azerbaijan from Armenia.

“165,000, rather than 250,000, ethnic Azerbaijanis emigrated from
Armenia,” the RA Migration Service informed NEWS.am. Unlike internally
displaced ethnic Armenians, Azerbaijanis left Armenia under peaceful
conditions, and were able to sell or exchange their apartments.

“Moreover, the Armenian authorities granted compensation to 14,
500 Azerbaijani families against their apartments and property –
$110m in 1989,” says the report.

From: A. Papazian

TURKEY’S POLICY INSPIRES NO OPTIMISM, RA PRESIDENT STATES

NEWS.am
June 22, 2010 | 17:27

Turkey’s present policy of normalizing relations with Armenia inspires
no optimism, RA President Serzh Sargsyan told a press conference after
his talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, this Tuesday.

“There are no Armenian-Turkish relations, and, unfortunately, this
new way inspires no optimism. In 2008 we initiated a reconciliation
process with Turkey, realizing that the relations might be established
provided that political will was displayed,” the President said.

According to him, Turkey lacked political will. “We saw the Turkish
Parliament did not ratify the Armenian-Turkish Protocols. So we
suspended the ratification process,” Serzh Sargsyan stated.

He also pointed out that Turkey’s present policy does not contribute
to the bilateral normalization.

From: A. Papazian

TURKEY TO PRODUCE ATTACK WEAPONRY FOR AZERBAIJAN

NEWS.am
June 22, 2010 | 17:32

Turkey and Azerbaijan intend to establish an arms production company,
Today’s Zaman reports referring to Azerbaijani press.

Presently, Azerbaijani “Azersimtel” company is holding negotiations on
structure and scope of a new company, Today’s Zaman says. According to
the source, the Turkish Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation
(MKE) will hold a large share of the military facility. It is also
reported that the company will produce attack weaponry for Azerbaijan.

“Using the trade networks of both Azerbaijan and Turkey, the arms
company will most likely export some of its products abroad,” Today’s
Zaman reports.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT EXPRESSES LITTLE HOPE THAT HIS COUNTRY COULD RESUME RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

ArmInfo
2010-06-22 17:49:00

ArmInfo. Armenian President Serge Sarkisian expressed little hope on
Tuesday that his country could resume relations with Turkey.

He said this during his first state visit to Germany.

M&C quotes Sarkisian as saying: ‘Turkey’s current policies are not
conducive towards engaging in relations.’

In Berlin, Sarkisian held talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, who
offered to help resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

‘In those areas where we can be helpful, we want to be helpful,’ Merkel
told journalists, adding her hope that resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue would also help ease tensions with Turkey.

‘We greatly welcomed the fact that there was some movement in
relations between Armenia and Turkey some time ago,’ the chancellor
said. ‘Unfortunately the whole thing has lost its momentum,’ she added.

Sarkisian said he was not optimistic about Turkey’s recent foreign
policy shift, which has seen the country take a more assertive role
in international issues such as Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip
and Iran’s nuclear policy.

The Armenian president went on to say that an improvement in the
countries’ relations would require political efforts from Ankara.

‘We have not seen this will from Turkey,’ he added.

From: A. Papazian

AIR POLITICS: DOES THE NEW TV LAW KILL HOPES FOR PLURALISM?

ArmeniaNow
Human rights | 22.06.10 | 14:42

NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent

A contest for TV frequencies will be held in Armenia on July 20. And
on its last day of spring session on June 10, the National Assembly
adopted the government-proposed amendments to the Law on Television
and Radio. The government explains the amendments are necessary in
view of switching to digital broadcasting in the country.

At present, Armenia has 22 television channels. A majority of
them broadcast for Yerevan only. Among these channels at least four
retransmit Russian channels, several others mostly offer entertainment
TV. All the other channels that report news and offer analytical
programs have a marked pro-government stance, with the exception of
Yerkir Media, a television company funded by the opposition Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). The party quit the ruling
coalition in April 2009 and declared itself opposition, but it opposes
the government mainly on foreign-policy issues and, to some extent,
on socio-economic issues, preferring not to touch on the issue of
the government’s legitimacy. International bodies and local media
organizations do not consider that Yerkir Media ensures pluralism in
the broadcasting sphere.

The issue of A1 Plus, an independent TV channel controversially taken
off the air in 2002, stands out in the process. Since losing its
broadcasting license, the company has failed to win a single contest.

The adopted amendments do not look encouraging for the company in
terms of obtaining a broadcasting license. Chairman of the Board of the
Public Television of Armenia Alexan Harutyunyan said on June 18 that
“A1 Plus has become an ‘idea fix’ for international organizations.” He
did not specify whether the amended broadcast legislation enabled A1
Plus to take part in the contest.

Since they were published the draft amendments have been criticized
by media organizations in Armenia and international bodies. Several
organizations, including the Yerevan Press Club, media support NGO
Internews, Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation Armenia issued
a special statement on June 6 in which they called on international
organizations not to assist the Government of the Republic of Armenia
in the process of broadcast digitalization until it has submitted a
revised bill.

United States Ambassador to the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ian Kelly reminded at the meeting of
the Permanent Council in Vienna that OSCE member countries have a
commitment to respect and protect fundamental human rights, such as
freedom of speech and the media. The U.S. Mission to the OSCE noted
that the amendments to the Armenian Law on Television and Radio were
likely to lead to reduction in plurality on television, as well as
to restricted access of the Armenian public to diverse information
and opinions.

In a statement issued earlier this month, Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE
Representative on Freedom of the Media, said Armenia’s new law on TV
and radio “fails to promote broadcast pluralism in the digital era”.

Among the major shortcomings Mijatovic identified the following: a
limit to the number of broadcast channels; a lack of clear rules for
the licensing of satellite, mobile telephone and online broadcasting;
the placement of all forms of broadcasting under a regime of licensing
or permission by the Regulator; the granting of authority to the
courts to terminate broadcast licenses based on provisions in the law
that contain undue limitations on freedom of the media; and a lack of
procedures and terms for the establishment of private digital channels.

In a letter dated June 15, Human Rights Watch, a global human rights
watchdog, urged Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan not sign the law and
instead return it to the National Assembly for continued deliberations.

HRW also reminded Armenia of its obligation to implement the June
17, 2008 European Court of Human Rights judgment finding Armenia in
violation of Article 10 (Freedom of Expression) in relation to A1
Plus’s case. Despite this, President Sargsyan has signed the adopted
amendments into law.

What is remarkable in this whole story is that the Armenian authorities
have not retreated under pressure from public opinion and international
organizations. Experts say that it is connected with the intention
to retain full control over television in the period before the
parliamentary polls in 2012 and the presidential election in 2013.

From: A. Papazian

GOLDEN APRICOT: ARMENIA’S BEST KNOWN FILM FESTIVAL, TAKE 7
Karine Ionesyan

ArmeniaNow reporter
22.06.10

The seventh Golden Apricot International Film Festival is less than
three weeks away and organizers are promising a week of about 120
films, 44 of which will be vying for prizes.

About 500 applications from 75 countries were received for this year’s
fest and first-time participants will include Jordan, Nicaragua,
Venezuela and Costa Rica in the increasing popular film festival.

Films will be shown in three halls of the Moscow Cinema, two halls
of the Puppet Theater, the Nairi Movie House, Narekatsi Union, and
at the Club restaurant.

Seventeen of the films that will be in competition are by
Armenian filmmakers, and seven of these 17 films are those made
by Diaspora-based Armenians. Among well-known films to feature at
the festival will be Vigen Chaldranyan’s “Maestro”, Suren Babayan’s
“Don’t Look Into the Mirror”, Edgar Baghdasaryan’s “From Ararat to
Zion” and others.

Inna Sahakyan will participate in the festival for the first time.

Together with her co-author Arman Yeritsyan she is presenting
“Armenia’s Last Rope-Walker”, a story about elderly people in which
they try to save the old art of rope-walking.

“We are happy that this story will become available to many through
the festival, and also glad that Golden Apricot is already recognized
among numerous film festivals in the world,” the 32-year-old filmmaker
told ArmeniaNow.

As in 2009, Golden Apricot will feature three categories of
competition — international feature films, documentaries and the
Armenian panorama. There will be five panels of jury at the festival,
including judges from the International Federation of Film Critics
and the Ecumenical Jury.

Golden Apricot frequently cooperates with Turkish filmmakers, including
this year’s Armenia-Turkey workshop organized jointly with the Istanbul
Anadolu Kyultur organization as part of the Istanbul International
Film Festival.

Now there is a Turkish filmmaker among 21 jury members in Golden
Apricot’s International Feature Films category. (Semih Kaplanoglu is
known for his 52-part TV series “Sehnaz Tango”).

VivaCell-MTS mobile communications operator is the general sponsor
again this year, and the Ministry of Culture has allotted about
$134,00.

According to the official press release of the festival, tribute will
be paid to several devotees of the Armenian cinema. In particular,
the festival will celebrate the 85th birthday anniversary of film
director Henrik Malyan, the 80th birthday of actors Mher Lazarian
and Khoren Abrahamyan, the 75th birthday of cameraman Albert Yavuryan,
as well as the jubilee of 75-year-old actor Armen Jigarkhanyan.

There will be special tributes for two Diaspora-Armenian filmmakers –
French-Armenian Henry Vernoy and Canadian-Armenian Atom Egoyan timed
to their 90th and 50th birthdays, respectively. Egoyan will be present
again this year at the Golden Apricot.

From: A. Papazian

THE WOODROW WILSON CENTER HAS VIOLATED THE LEGACY OF PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE DIGNITY OF AMERICA

[ 2010/06/22 | 11:33 ]
world politics

They [Turks] had exhibited complete absence of common sense and
a total misunderstanding of the West. They had imagined that the
[Paris Peace] Conference knew no history and was ready to swallow
enormous falsehoods. President Woodrow Wilson, June 26, 1919, Paris
(The Papers of Woodrow Wilson, v. 61, June 18 – July 25, 1919, New
Jersey, 1989, p. 210)

In spite of numerous complaints and protests, Turkey’s Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu nevertheless received the Woodrow Wilson Award for
Public Service from the Washington, DC-based think tank, the Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars. Whereas this turn of events
can be qualified as merely an incident for us Armenians, a painful and
undesirable one, but just an incident all the same, this is a serious
blow, on the other hand, to the credibility of American think tanks.

The principle value of a think tank is in its freedom, that is, in its
ability to carry out independent analysis and present an objective
outlook. To be on someone else’s payroll would be the worst kind of
reputation for any think tank. By presenting an award to Davutoglu,
the Woodrow Wilson Center brought to light the fact that it has simply
auctioned off the prize, or, as they themselves worded beautifully,
“The Wilson Center said in an e-mailed statement that the award is
part of its fund-raising effort.”

Of course, the Woodrow Wilson Center has no legal obligation in terms
of upholding the views and policies of the 28th President of the United
States. Still, the very name places certain moral responsibilities
on the center. Wilson was the first among heads of state to raise
the issue of the self-determination of peoples to the international
stage. How does one justify bestowing an award to the foreign minister
of a country which, for decades now, has been drowning the right
to self-determination of the Kurdish people in blood? By violating
the right to self-determination of the Kurds, Turkey is violating
Wilson’s political legacy as well. It is most unfortunate that among
those with a part to play in violating the legacy of Woodrow Wilson
and the dignity of America is the think tank bearing the name of the
just president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson.

Ara Papian Head of the Modus Vivendi Center 18 June, 2010

From: A. Papazian